Who would you rather see while kayaking - a movie star or a cuddly marine mammal? I had the opportunity to do both just a short drive from San Francisco in August of 2010.

Monterey, California is in some ways a model for how wildlife-based tourism can revive a community and benefit both people and endangered animals. In the early 1900’s, the town was a hub for the fishing industry and was home to many canneries based on the abundant catches coming in from fishermen. Fish stocks crashed in the 1950’s from overfishing, decimating the community.

ESTC12 Call for Speakers

TIES would like to invite our members and industry partners to explore the opportunity to present at the upcoming Ecotourism and Sustainable Tourism Conference (ESTC) in Monterey, California, USA, from September 17-19, 2012. Bringing together 450+ business leaders, industry professionals and community stakeholders, the ESTC 2012 will feature dynamic sessions, public forums and social functions that offer eye-opening insights into the latest on sustainable business strategies and unparalleled networking and knowledge-sharing experiences.

ESTC Speaker Selection Criteria

Based on past conference session topics and attendee feedback, the proposed session themes for the ESTC12 have been developed by TIES Advisory Board, which will review and evaluate speaker applications.

The RPTA curriculum includes courses in leadership, marketing, public relations, financial planning, and management. Additionally, students elect to pursue one of our concentrations, with specialized courses in Tourism Planning and Management, Special Event Management, Sport Management, Community Services Management, and Outdoor, Adventure, and Resource Recreation. Dedicated to the development of effective leadership and a 'learn by doing' philosophy, the RPTA students are excellent candidates for internships and/or employment.

Considered the travel and hospitality industry’s "who's who list", McIntosh joins a distinguished group of honorees known for "habitually exemplifying traits indicative of the best sales and marketing professionals in the hospitality, travel and tourism industries."

Investing in Sustainability and Local Communities

Nature Air isn't satisfied with merely being the world's first carbon-neutral airline: by 2021, the company hopes to be "carbon-positive," actually taking CO2 out of the atmosphere. While the carrier is sourcing locally produced biofuels and using biodiesel to power its ground operations, the centerpiece of Nature Air's efforts is its ongoing purchase of carbon credits, which offer funds to Costa Rican landowners who have agreed to conserve the tropical forests of the Osa Peninsula. It's a corporate ethos that addresses global concerns by investing in local communities.

Nature Air has been awarded Travel + Leisure's Global Vision Award 2011 (Eco Travel Category). The award recognizes innovation in tourism, honoring those who provide "journeys that enrich the destinations you travel through."

Wheels of Change

Travel + Leisure magazine announced on Oct. 19, 2011, that tour operator Austin-Lehman Adventures (ALA) is a recipient of its 2011 Global Vision Award. ALA is the active travel company setting adventure vacations standards in The Americas, Europe, Africa and most recently, Cuba. The award in the category of corporate innovation and community development recognizes the Austin-Lehman-driven program called Wheels of Change that from a collection center in Billings, Montana, receives used bicycles for eventual delivery to African villages.

In this article "Go Green And Give 'Em Something To Talk About: An Open Letter To Marketers" (published by MediaPost Communications, October 24th, 2011), Vicky Hastings, Managing Director of Maxwell PR, shares: "At the recent Ecotourism and Sustainable Tourism Conference, I was privy to conversations with enthusiastic resort and travel destination sustainability officers wondering how to convince their company's old school marketing managers to embrace the not-so-new green world."

Call to Action: Start by Sharing

Urging marketers to learn from leaders in green travel and sustainable tourism fields, Hastings shares the following suggestions for marketers to get started and to keep the momentum going:

Waste Stream Management, Inc. has begun a pilot project to use an all-electric Jeep to pick up Sea Pines Resort's recycling waste in their single stream recycling program. The vehicle was developed by Paul Wolfe and Mike Brewer in Charlotte, North Carolina. According to Mr. Brewer, the purpose for developing an all-electric vehicle was to show that one could create an affordable alternative to the high-priced electric vehicles that are currently on the market.

The cost for the base model of the all-electric vehicle is approximately $17,000. The benefits of owning the electric Jeep include no polluting emissions, lower maintenance costs, and the cost to fill up is less than two dollars per day.